Jesuit Update: June 14, 2015

(Queen of All Saints Basilica in Chicago Just Before the Jesuit Ordinations of 2015)

The spring semester at the Jesuit novitiate was full of travel. We started with a 30-day silent retreat in Canada, returned to Canada for volunteer service at L’Arche Daybreak in Ontario, and hit the road for a 30-day pilgrimage, which for me took place largely in Idaho and Utah.

The summer is no different. First, we traveled to Mundelein, IL, for an 8-day silent retreat. Now, we are in Chicago for ordinations and for a conference with all of the Jesuits in the Midwest. Tomorrow, we leave for Los Angeles for a gathering of all Jesuits in formation from the U.S. and Canada. Following that event, we go to Colorado to learn about the history of the Jesuits.

Despite the dizziness of the movement from place to place, I feel surprisingly at peace in Christ. After all, it has been said that a Jesuits’ home is the road. The most notable recent experience was a prayer workshop that some of us novices gave at a parish in the Little Village neighborhood in Chicago. I presented on the topic of finding God in all things. In both the beauties and the sufferings of life, Christ is there, for he is the Author of beauty and the Redeemer of pain. People seemed to respond really well to the content of our presentations, and many of the comments that the audience offered after the talks bolstered my faith, as well.

Anyways, if I am true to myself, I’ll seek God in the travels of the summer, finding Him in airport, in packing, in the smog of LA, and in the mountain air of Colorado.